Composite innersole construction



June 9, 1953 G. E. MUSEBECK 2,641,059

COMPOSITE INNERSOLE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 7. 1951 I 2 Sheets-Sheet lJune 9, 1953 e. E. MUSEBECK 2,641,059

COMPOSITE INNERSOLE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u 19770E/VAVS.

1N VEN TOR. 46M

Patented June 9, 1953 COMPOSITE INNERSOLE CONSTRUCTION George E.Musebeck, Oconomowoc, Wis., assignor to Musebeck Shoe Company,Oconomowoc, Wis., a corporation of Illinois Application May 7, 1951,Serial No. 224,993

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in composite innersoleconstructions for shoes, and more particularly to innersoles which aredesigned for the prevention or correction of foot ailments.

In the construction of shoes it is generally desirable to provide forproper distribution of the weight of the body when the shoe is beingworn. My prior Patents Nos. 2,014,628, 2,067,240, and 1,916,198 haveprovided effective means for correcting or preventing ankle pronation.While it is very important to prevent in-rolling of the foot, it is alsoimportant to prevent shoes from running over on the outer side of theshoe as such running over causes excessive wear, discomfort to the user,and damage to the foot. This problem is particularly serious inconnection with that portion of the shoe which comes below the fifthmetatarsal bone at the outer side of the ball of the foot.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provideadditional support below the outer side of the ball of the foot toprevent running over of shoes on said side and to throw the Weighttoward the inside just enough to maintain a well balanced foot conditionand to provide for an even distribution of weight.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a compositeinnersole construction which comprises a full length lower layer and atwopart upper layer, the latter comprising a forepart and a backpartwhich overlap in a substantially triangular area to provide an extrathickness which is located to give additional support to the outerweight bearing part of the foot adjacent Q the fifth metatarsal bone.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction as abovedescribed which makes it practical for corrective wedges or pads to beeasily inserted by the manufacturer or retailer to suit abnormal orspecial foot conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide an innersoleconstruction which, because of the two-part upper layer, makes itpossible to furnish alternative materials for either the forepart orbackpart depending upon requirements. For example, the backpart of theupper layer of the innersole may be formed of felt or rubber to providea special cushioning effect when such effect is desirable.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved innersole construction and all of its parts and combinations,as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating several embodiments of theinvention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same partsin all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the lower layer of an innersole;

Figs. 2 and 3 respectively illustrate plan views of the two parts whichcomprise the upper innersole layer;

Fig. 4 is a plan view illustrating how the parts of Figs. 2 and 3 areassembled on the layer of Fig. 1, part of the upper layer being brokenaway to show the material therebeneath;

Fig. 5 is a view looking at the inner edge of the assembly of Fig. 4;

Fig 6 is a view looking at the outer edge of the assembly of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a View showing the intermediate portion of Fig. 6 on anenlarged scale to better illustrate the overlapping parts;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View on an enlarged scale through a completed shoetaken approximately on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4, part of the shoe upperbeing broken away;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing how an extra wedge has beeninserted between the overlapping portions to meet special conditions;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line |iil9 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an edge View looking at the outer side of the assembly ofFig. 9;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing how a metatarsal pad may beinserted between the overlapping portions of the upper layer of theinnersole;

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view taken approximately on the line!3i3 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 14 is a longitudinal sectional View through an assembly of the typeillustrated in Fig. 4, showing how one of the sections of the upperinnersole layer may be formed of special material to suit specialconditions.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 20 designatesthe lower layer of the innersole, which layer may be formed of lightleather or composition board. In addition, it may have an inseamstitch-receiving rib 2| as is common in welt constructions. This rib maybe either formed on or attached to the underside of thelayer 20 in anyknown manner. While it is desirable to have the innersole formed with anarch supporting extension 22, this is not essential as far as thefeatures of the present invention are concerned, as the presentinvention has utility in shoes whether or not such an arch supportingextension is employed. The present invention, however, does cooperateeffectively with an arch supporting extension in providing for properweight distribution.

Cemented or otherwise suitably secured to the upper surface of the lowerlayer 20 is a two-part upper layer comprising a forepart 23 and abackpart 24. These parts are preferably formed of ning of the curveunder the ball of the foot as is illustrated in Fig. 4. The angle of theedge 25 is such that the corner portion 26 extends under the fifthmetatarsal bone.

The forepart 23 of the upper layer of the innersole has its rearwardedge 21 positioned to provide a substantially triangular overlap withthe backpart 24. In Fig. 4 it may be seen that one side of thistriangular overlap is formed by the edge 25, another side by the edge27, and the third side by the outer edge portion 28 of the innersole.

The edge 25 is skived as at 29 and the edge 21 is skived as at 30. Dueto this skiving the small amount of overlap 3| below the inner side ofthe foot produces no eifective increase in the thickness of theinnersole assembly on this edge of the shoe, as is clear from Fig. 5.However, due to the triangular shape of the overlap there is arelatively long overlapping area at the outer edge 23 which produces anincreased thickness on the outer edge of the shoe as indicated in Figs.4, 6 and 7, to give additional support to the outer weight bearing partof the foot adjacent and under the fifth metatarsal bone. Thisarrangement tends to prevent running over of the shoe on the outer side.

The construction shown in Fig. 4 serves to distribute the weight justenough to prevent running over of shoes of the average person. Forunusual conditions, however, an additional wedge 32 of selected shapeand thickness may be cemented in place between the overlapping portionsin the manner illustrated in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. As is clear from Fig.11, this will provide a substantially greater increase in the thicknessof the innersole assembly below the outer side of the foot and will giveadditional support under the fifth metatarsal bone and under the outerweight bearing part of the foot.

The improved innersole construction also makes it very simple to insertand employ metatarsal pads. One type of pad 33 is illustrated in Figs.12 and 13. This pad may be inserted and cemented between the overlappingportions of the upper layer of the innersole.

The present construction, wherein the upper layer of the innersolecomprises two parts makes it entirely practical to substitutealternative materials for one or the other of said parts to suit specialconditions. In Fig. 14, the forepart 23 of the innersole is formed ofleather but the backpart 24 is formed of a cushioning material such asfelt, rubber or cork. to suit special situations. Thus, a specialcushioning effect under the arch and under the heel may be easilyobtained. For other foot conditions it may be desirable to substitutecushioning materials for the forepart 23.

In view of the above it is apparent that the improved innersoleconstruction provides a simple method for insuring that there is properweight distribution and for preventing running over of shoes on theouter side. It is also apparent that the two-part construction of theupper layer makes it possible for either the manufacturer or theretailer to quickly and securely insert special wedges or pads to suitspecial or abnormal foot conditions. In addition, it is clear that theimproved innersole construction makes it practical for the manufacturerto utilize an alternative material such as a cushioning material for oneor the other of the parts in the upper layer of the innersole wheneverthis is desirable.

Various changes and modifications may be made Without departing from thespirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated, asmay come within the scope of the claims.

What I claim as the invention is:

1. A composite innersole construction for shoes comprising a lower layerand an upper layer joined together, said upper layer comprising aforepart and a backpart and said parts overlapping in a. substantiallytriangular area approximately midway of the length of the inner sole, aside of said triangular area being located adjacent the outer edge ofthe inner sole to provide an extra thickness adjacent said edge, saidoverlapping parts having complemental portions of reduced thicknesswhich interfit to prevent any substantial increase in thickness at theopposite edge of the innersole.

2. A composite innersole construction for shoes comprising a lower layerand an upper layer Joined together, said upper layer comprising aforepart and a backpart and said parts having edges which overlap in asubstantially triangular area approximately midway of the length of theinner sole, two of the sides of said triangular area extendingtransversely of the innersole and the third side being defined by theouter edge of the innersole, said overlapping edges being skived andsaid skived edges inte-rfitting at the inner edge of the innersole toprevent any substantial increase in thickness adjacent said edge.

3. A composite innersole construction for shoes comprising a lower layerand an upper layer joined together, said upper layer comprising aforepart and a backpart and said parts overlapping in a substantiallytriangular area approximately midway of a length of the inner sole, aside of said triangular area being located adjacent the outer edge ofthe inner sole to provide an extra thickness adjacent said edge, saidoverlapping parts having complemental portions of reduced thicknesswhich interfit to prevent any substantial increase in thickness at theopposite edge of the innersole, one of said parts of the upper layerbeing formed of material having different foot supportingcharacteristics than the other part.

4. A composite innersole construction for shoes comprising a lower layerand an upper layer joined together, said upper layer comprising aforepart and a backpart and said parts overlapping in a substantiallytriangular area approximately midway of the length of the inner sole, aside of said triangular area being located adjacent the outer edge ofthe inner sole to provide an extra thickness adjacent said edge, saidoverlapping parts having complemental portions of reduced thicknesswhich intcrfit to prevent any substantial increase in thickness at theopposite edge of the innersole, the hackpart of said upper layer beingformed of relatively resilient cushioning material.

GEORGE E. MUSEBECK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,078,571 Austin Nov. 11, 1913 1,937,678 White Dec. 5, 19331,997,118 Reardon Apr. 9, 1935 2,164,754 Maccarone July 4, 19392,220,439 Block Nov. 5, 1940 2,231,552 Sewall Feb. 11, 1941 2,428,244Roles Sept. 30, 1947

